Fangs For The Fantasy

Rick, Darryl and Hershel are outside of the prison making plans for Michonne.  Darryl says that it is not them but Rick responds that if they do this, they avoid a fight so no one else dies. Rick heads into the prison and stops in front of Merle, who is ripping apart a bed in a cell.  He tells Merl that they needs his help and he asks if Merle knows why he does the things that he does or the choices he makes when.  Rick says that they give the governor Michonne then Woodbury stands down.  He adds that the doesn’t like it but it’s what needs to be done. Merle asks who knows and Rick tells him Hershel, Darryl and him. Merle tells him to give Philip Michonne because he won’t kill her but take out one of her eyes.  Merle then says, you’re cold as ice officer friendly.  Merle advices they use wire not rope so that Michonne cannot chew through it  He then add that Rick is right and that he doesn’t know why he does the things he does but says that he knows rick and that he doesn’t have the spine for it.  Rick says that they needs to Michonne to the Governor by noon.

Rich rushes outside when he hears noise, but it’s just Maggie banging pots to keep the attention of walkers as Michonne walks in the field slaughtering them and Darryl, Hershel and Glenn drive a truck in.   Michonne tells Rick that they don’t have to win, they just have to make them getting to them more trouble than it’s worth.  The gang then heads back into the prison as Merle watches from a window.  Carol is putting Judith down and Merle asks her for some whiskey.  Carol asks him if he is with them and Merle tells her that he is there for his brother.  Carol replies that Darryl is with them and that it is not time to take shots but to pick side.   Merle answers that she is not like she was in the camps and doesn’t seem scared of anything anymore,  Carol says that she is not and Merle calls her a late bloomer.

Darryl and Glenn are working outside and he asks Glenn if Merle said sorry yet and that he is going to make Merle make it right.  Darryl suggests that they need a little forgiveness.  Glenn says that Merle says that he tied him to a chair, beat him and then tossed a walker in the room.  Glenn adds maybe he could call it even, but Merle took Maggie to a man who terrorized her, humiliated her. I care more about her than I do about me. Darryl then walks into the prison to find Merle.

He walks through the generator room until he finds Merle. Darryl asks what he is doing down there and if he has talked to Rick yet.  Merle says yes but that Rick doesn’t have the stomach for it.  Darryl replies if he does he does.  Merle asks if he wants him to and Darryl replies whatever he says goes.  Merle asks if Darryl even possess a pair of balls and asks him what happened to him  Darryl asks what happened with Merle, Glenn and Maggie.  Merle says that he has done worse and that Darryl needs to grow u.  Merle points out that they want t do the same thing he did and that people have to do or they die.  He suggests that people need someone like him around to do the dirty work. Darryl’s says that he wants his brother back and Merle responds that he is right there.  Merle then picks up the phone and puts it in his bag.

Hershel is reading from the bible to Beth and Maggie.  Rick is outside the prison collecting what looks to be internet cable wire and when he looks up, he again sees Lori.  He says, “you’re not there, she’s not there.”  He then drops the wire on the ground and walks away.  Inside the prison, Beth asks Hershel if he is okay and he responds, “what I wouldn’t do to keep you two safe.” Rick approaches Hershel and says that he can’t do it and that he won’t.

Merle has brought Michonne downstairs under the guise of dealing with some walkers. He uses his am to knock her unconscious and then drags her off by her feet.  Merle puts a bag over her head and then ties up her hands. Merle is walking Michonne down the street and tells her about the Governor’s offer and tells her that he got it down but Rick wouldn’t be able to.  Merle adds that Rick was the guy who came back to him but this is all on him and that it’s his job to do the dirty work.

Back at the prison, Rick tells Darryl that it’s off and that they will take their chances and then ads that he cannot find Merle and Michonne.  Darryl takes Rick to the generator room and Darryl says that this is where he took Michonne.  Rick says that he is going after him but Darryl says that just he will go and reminds Rick that he can’t track for shit.  As Darryl walks out he tells Rick you guys are family too.

Merle tells Michonne that he want his brother back though Darryl wants to be in the prison. Merle believes that if he pulls this off maybe all will be forgiven and they can stay in the prison.  Michonne points out that this is a whole lot of maybes but Merle says that you hve to play the hand your given. Merle says that he killed 16 men since all this went down, after Michonne points out that he is not a bad man beause he feels things.

Glenn approaches Hershel and says look at what that bastard has done. Hershel points out that he is one man and says that there will be others like him. Glenn is holding hershel’ watch and admits that he didn’t understand when Hershel gave it to him, but that he knows what it means now and what it takes.  Glenn says that he wants to marry Maggie because he wants her to know before who knows.  Hershel gives Glenn his blessing and Glenn thanks him.

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We have looked at Race in The Walking Dead before, back near the beginning of season two and we covered many of the problems with the show has when it comes to its POC, especially compared to the comics.

Unfortunately, the show hasn’t improved, quite the opposite in many ways, and it has reached a point where our original post now needs a sequel. Insert your own “I can’t believe I still have to complain about this” macro if you got ‘em.

Let’s start with the character who occupied so many of our complaints before - T-Dog. T-Dog the silent. T-Dog the characterless. T-Dog who did nothing but fetch and carry. Well, T-Dog lasted through the whole of season two and if he said more than five lines I’d be astonished; he disappeared for entire episodes, was completely ignored when anyone made any kind of decision and was, quite literally, background colour.

There seemed almost to be a shift in how he was treated in season 3 - he started to talk! He had lines, actual lines! He even… reach for your smelling salts folks… he even expressed an opinion over the prisoners and whether they should be allowed to join the group. He even disagreed with Rick!

Of course, it was too good to be true and shortly afterwards he was plunging into the walkers, sacrificing himself to save a White woman, Carol. Which means all of his sudden participation wasn’t so much an attempt to redeem his broken character as it was a way to desperately humanise him - or even remind us that he actually existed - before he died so we could believe the (very brief) sadness of the group afterwards. Though, maybe not, it’s not like they spent more than two seconds grieving for him. Three episodes later and he was barely mentioned again - I can think of one occasion, when Hershel tells Andrea about the group he tells her of T-Dog’s death. This causes her about 2 seconds of thought and then everyone moved on.

We could probably have predicted T-Dog’s death by Oscar’s appearance. After all, does the show really need two silent token Black men? And Michonne and Glenn as well? Inclusion cookies have been earned! It’s almost like a remake of Highlander - there can only be one silent Black token! Oscar himself should probably have paid attention to that lesson, after several episodes of doing his duty, standing there and being Black, he too was killed off in the fight in Woodbury to rescue Glenn and Maggie. This seemed to happen partly because the fight in Woodbury had to cost the group something - so Rick could later refer to it costing them. It’s hard not to see Oscar as a disposable, throw-away character used to add weight to the feud between the prison and Woodbury.

The other reason he died? Well, Tyrese was introduced - THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE! I feel there should be dramatic music for that.

So far we have not seen a lot of Tyrese, which, as we said before, is already a big deviation from the comics where he was an integral member of the group since before the survivors even reached the prison or Hershel’s farm. This delay means Tyrese didn’t join the group when Rick was still accepting of outsiders, willing to share leadership roles and welcome of help; instead he arrives when Rick is paranoid, suspicious and violently hostile. In a desperate attempt to fit in and be accepted, Tyrese goes beyond accommodating and is positively servile. Whatever they need, whatever they want, he bows, he crawls, he begs - desperate and subservient.

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Motherhood means life, so in some ways it is not surprising that a show where the dead rise and walk the earth, contains problematic treatment of motherhood. Despite all of the running, hiding and struggle to survive, motherhood has actually featured quite largely on The Walking Dead, the problem is that each instance in which motherhood has been an issue, it reveals not only the strong gender roles that The Walking Dead has enforced since the very first season, but an idealized form of motherhood.

The first mother we were introduced to was Lori.  She escaped the city with Carl and Shane (thank Gods he’s dead).  Lori’s main motivation was keeping Carl safe, when she wasn’t engaged in subsistence labour. It is Lori who sat down with Carl and forced him to continue his studies. It is Lori who tried hard to establish discipline and order in his life. Lori’s only real identity for the bulk of her appearance on the show was to nurture. The one time in which she chose to reject this limitation because of the impact that it would have on her life, she was shamed. If a woman can’t choose to have an abortion during a zombie apocalypse when food, and shelter are scarce, then when can she?  Her life essentially meant nothing if she was not fulfilling her role as a mother.  When she went to Hershel with her fears, she was given the “there there” treatment and sent on her way.  Even in the best of situations, labour can mean death but for a woman who had serious issues with her first pregnancy and now faced labour without any modern medical intervention, it was an absolute surety. In the end, Lori paid for her motherhood with her life.

Lori’s death did not however convince Rick to take on the nurturing role for his family. This duty was instead passed to Beth. Before taking on a role as primary caregiver to the newborn, Beth’s greatest claim to fame was lying down in her bed and giving up. Yes, in this day and age, The Walking Dead actually had a young woman take to her bed. With a child to care for, Beth is suddenly reinvigorated and taking an active interest in life again, she has even gone as far as to talk about how she always wanted to be a wife and mother. These are certainly admirable goals but the fact that she didn’t have other aspirations as well, speaks loudly about the role that women are expected to take on The Walking Dead. As young as Beth is, she is already being constructed as a mother type figure with no other discernible traits. Even Carl, who is several years younger than her is walking around with a gun and entrusted with protecting the prison. Though Judith is his sister, Carl’s involvement in her daily life is minimal at best. The only other caregiver we have seen look after Judith is Carol, despite the fact that Beth chose to claim Darryl as the reason for Judith’s survival and Rick chose to thank him for his contribution.  The efforts of both Beth and Carol have gone unrecognized.

Beth and Maggie’s mother is deceased and this of course happened off screen. Hershel is their parent and yet it is Maggie who does the nurturing work for Beth. There can be no doubt that a loving relationship exists between Hershel, Maggie and Beth, but again, their roles are strictly defined by gender.  By default, it is Maggie who takes on the role of parental figure, though this should absolutely be Hershel’s responsibility. 

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Rumple and Emma are going on their road trip as Rumple calls in his debt, but Emma insists on bringing Henry since she doesn’t want to leave him behind with Cora lurking around. They tensely cross the boundary, worried that Rumple may lose his memories crossing over (though he never actually lost his memories with the curse, he and Regina were the two who escaped) but when he crosses over he declares that his name is Rumplestiltskin and they’re going to find his son

Working their way through the airport and Rumple being a little overwhelmed since he’s never left Storybrooke before. There’s a particularly bad moment when he has to take off the shawl to go through security, risking losing his memories as he staggers through. He gets more and more agitated and stressed until he goes to a bathroom and batters his fist against the wall. He tries to heal his skinned knuckles, but it doesn’t work. His magic doesn’t work.

As they take off, he looks more and more nervous

In Storybrooke, Snow answers the door and it’s Regina! Quick admissions of being wrong and Regina being framed by Cora and Archie actually being alive follow and Snow’s heartfelt apology. Regina is more focused on seeing Henry and they tell her he’s left town. Regina’s angry that they left without consulting her but Snow protests that they didn’t know where she was – and Emma doesn’t have to consult Regina anyway. Ahem, as Henry’s legal guardian you do actually.

Snow, Charming and Grumpy take Hook to make him show them where he stashed his pirate ship (with Snow confident he’ll help because pirates know which way the wind is blowing. And Charming’s threatening to cut off his other hand).  Grumpy is interested in using the ship to return to fairyland, but it won’t work without a portal. Hook doesn’t know Cora’s plans – but knows it involves a man in a cage: the giant from the top of the beanstalk, now human sized.

Flashback to the giant’s past in fairy land, where the other giants call him Tiny since he is considerably smaller than the other giants but he insists on Anton. They’re celebrating the bean harvest and Anton is lightly chided for his obsession with the humans and their world – which they’re banned from visiting (and even pretend the giants are gone) because humans conquered and invaded different realms, not content with just trading. Anton thinks sweeping judgement of the humans is wrong and questions why they grow the beans at all if they don’t use them. One of the other giants destroys the human harp he had and Anton leaves the table angrily, goes to the Beanstalk and climbs down.

Back to Storybrooke where Grumpy comments, unnecessarily, that Cora made Anton travel sized. Snow frees and wakes Anton to try and find Cora’s plans – he’s confused and disoriented, but when he says Charming he attacks – punching him over the rail (he may be small, but he seems immensely strong) and knocks Grumpy aside; until Snow sends an arrow in front of his face. Anton runs telling Charming that he remembers what he did and he’ll pay for his evil.

In the hospital, Ruby visits the amnesiac Belle and tries to bring her some comforts from home. Belle doesn’t remember her and is confused – especially since she remembers Rumple using magic to heal her and throw fire. Ruby tries to call it a side effect from the tranquilisers but Belle insists – and becomes agitated when she’s called Belle, a nurse arrives and sedates her. All of this is watched by Greg, the normal outsider who came to town.

Charming and Snow wonder why Anton is angry with them, but Charming has a flashback to his brother, James, identical in appearance but very different in personality who was called on to face a rampaging giant by their adopted father, King George. Charming says they have to find out exactly what James did, and we flash back to see ourselves.
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Gloomy Black and White Frankenstein Land: Past

We see Frankenstein’s past – not in Fairyland but in a monochrome dreary land where we learn that his father was not best supportive of Frankenstein’s work and was tired of funding it; he was much more impressed with Frankenstein’s brother who gets the shiny family watch.

Frankenstein is approached by Rumplestiltskin, looking very colourful in the black and white world, expressing interest in his bringing back the dead science. And he offers money - lots of money – actually more money than he could have fit in the bag which rather surprises Frankenstein in his magicless land. Rumple disappears and Frankenstein gets back to his newly funded work.

Cut to him digging up a body – and being found by his most disapproving brother who supported his work, but not grave robbing. They’re also caught by a guard who puts a bullet in said brother.

That does give him the body he needs for his experiments – which end up frying his brother’s body’s heart. His father finds out and dramatically disowns him. Rumple comes in to check on progress and hearing the burning heart is causing problems, he arranges to set him up with Regina for a super heart.

Using that heart he raises his brother (though he rejects that it is magic – it’s science he claims) and shows him proudly to his father who is ecstatic at the idea. Until he meets Gerhardt and finds him bemused, confused and lashing out. He turns to berate Victor Frankenstein for creating a monster  Gerhardt rushes to Victor Frankenstein’s defence, beating their father while Frankenstein watches, until he says enough (after taking his sweet time).  Their father is dead – hearing this, Gerhardt runs off.

Victor goes to see him and finds him confused and upset – he even attacks Victor before he recognises him, then cowers in a corner, scared by his sewn together hands (guy was shot in the stomach, why are his hands covered in stitches?). Victor draws a gun but can’t bring himself to pull the trigger, even when Gerhardt grabs the gun and pushes it against his own head.

Storybrooke, Present

Following the dramatic events at the end of the last episode, an amnesiac, injured Belle is very confused at the border and she only becomes more confused when Rumple heals her with magic.

Emma, Snow and Charming arrives, Emma tells Hook he has broken ribs and Rumple walks up to break some more bones which Emma and Charming object to (“you can’t do that!” “I can if you let me go.” Rumple remains awesome). Emma tries to invoke Belle being a witness and eventually the whole “what would Belle do” gets through to him. Emma sends the EMTs to treat the stranger in the car – the man from DUM DUM DUM OUTSIDE!

To the hospital where healthcare in Storybrooke is rather lacking due to Dr. Whale/Frankenstein’s drinking. It has to be said, Dr. Frankenstein isn’t going to fill many people with confidence anyway. He’s also indulging in maudlin flashbacks. I’m quite sure that drunkenness and a penchant for maudlin flashbacks are not the best traits in a doctor.

Still he manages to pull it together and get everyone in various beds, even if we have another flashback where his angst and brother’s comfort is witnessed by Rumple. In the hospital Rumple stands at Belle’s bed and she panics and screams – not recognising him.

Hook, meanwhile, has been handcuffed to his bed. And not for any kind of fun reasons.  But Emma does play with Hook’s sore places until he admits that he doesn’t know where Cora is. He’s also smug about hurting Rumple by hurting Belle. Emma’s not impressed by this and points out that Hook’s chained down while Rumple is “on his feet, immortal, has magic and you hurt his girl.” She decides this makes Hook Dead Guy of the Year. I disagree – death is going to be kind compared to the horrible things in store for Hook.

Outside the fairy tale contingent are trying to hack the stranger’s phone and displaying a collective ignorance of technology until Emma arrives. Looking through she concludes that the man, Greg, is just a perfectly ordinary person who just stumbled in and whatever magic stopped random people coming to Storybrooke is now gone. They begin a rather random panic about outsiders discovering all these strange, different people at a time when the wronged Regina has gone underground and Cora is out and about doing who knows what.

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This episode opens with Kenzi and Bo fighting with a fae.  Apparently, these attacks are being ordered by The Morrigan.  It’s not long before Bo asks Kenzi what her problem is with Lauren.  Kenzi hesitates at first and then says that Lauren is bossy, territorial, and controlling.  Bo counters back by saying that Lauren finds Kenzi to be immature, irresponsible and clingy. Bo tells Kenzi, “that in the battle of BFF versus main squeeze, I think it’s time to call it truce.” 

The man that there were fighting has gone back to The Morrigan and she is not pleased that he has been defeated.

Vex has gone to see Lauren to find out why his powers are working.  She tells him that there is nothing physically wrong with him and that this must be psychological.  Finally, Lauren suggests that this is common in a fae his age, as Vex tries to use his powers to strangle her.  When nothing happens, Lauren pulls out some pamphlets to help Vex deal with his condition. After he makes comments about Lauren having trouble keeping up with Bo sexually, she orders him out of her office.

Vex heads over to The Dahl and tries to confide in Trick about his problems but Trick has put earplugs in and hasn’t heard a word he said. He then heads over to the pool tables, where Tamsin and Dyson are taking aboutwork. Dyson cuts Vex off before he can even start and says that he is not buying Vex another drink. Tamsin joins in and adds that she is tired of hearing about how the dark fae don’t want him and the light fae cannot stand him.

Vex walks off as Bo enters the room.  Bo heads over to the bar after Tamsin rolls her eyes. Trick asks what Bo has been up to and Bo assures him that after the issue with the Garuda that the dark and light have decided to work together.  When Trick points out that because Bo is unaligned that she is unprotected, Bo pulls out a picture of The Morrigan tied up.  Trick advises Bo to talk to The Ash because he believes she needs a break.  As they are talking, Vex crashes into Bo and steals her phone because that is where she has the picture of The Morrigan stored.

Bo goes to see Hale, who tells her that she brought this all on herself by handcuffing The Morrigan and taking a picture of her. Bo is not impressed and brings up Dyson’s partnership with Tamsin.  Hale asks her why she cares and Bo says she does not.  When Hale hands her a dedication to the light form, Bo rejects it saying that she is not going to make a declaration out of fear.  When Bo starts to leave, Hale calls her back to say that the staff of righteousness is missing and is believed to be in the hands of Mortimar the pawnbroker.  Hale agrees to give Bo some security, if she finds his missing relic.

Vex heads over to see The Morrigan and hands over Bo’s phone, and she deletes the photograph.  Vex is expecting a warm welcome but The Morrigan says that if he really wanted to please her that he should have brought her Bo’s head on a platter.  The Morrigan suggests that Vex’s impotence has spread to his spine and says that she won’t have him killed today.  She adds, the next time we meet, either you or Bo will be dead.

Bo heads over to Lauren’s and when Lauren says that she is just doing some doctor stuff, Bo says that she is interested in her work.  Lauren then describes exactly what she is doing and Bo suggests a movie.  Bo then tells Lauren that she has the staff of righteousness and that she shouldn’t touch it. Lauren asks what she can touch and comes onto Bo, which surprises Bo because she thought that Lauren would be too tired after last night.

Vex is lying on the couch and when Kenzi asks what’s up, Vex says it’s his arm.  Kenzi has no sympathy for him and says that now he gets to know what it’s like to walk around like her and that he should suck it up. Vex snarks back, “you know, if I were you, I’d reconsider a career in social work.” Kenzi suggests that he stop wallowing for a moment and that they start talking about something that’s really important - mascara.  Kenzi points out that Vex has amazing lashes. Vex says that it’s all in the brush technique and that he picked up a few tips from Leonardo Da Vinci. “Now that was a queen, he was all over David’s ass like curry on chips,” Vex adds. 

Bo interrupts the conversation by entering the room and complaining that she cannot  find her cell phone.  Vex of course denies knowledge, so Bo demands he shift his butt so she can look under the cushion.  I suppose some weird magic happens then because the music changes and Bo pauses briefly. Kenzi goes back to putting on her mascara and Bo says that she wishes she had a makeup buddy and that Tamsin is so mean girl. Vex questions whether Bo rifled through his duffel bag and consumed several yellow pills.  Bo simply says that she is going to talk to Dyson and then practically skips out of the room.

Kenzi says, “Lauren’s pelt is going to be steamed,” causing Vex to ask what her issue is with Lauren. Kenzi replies that “she bi banged Bo”, causing Vex to remind Kenzi that Dyson has dropped kicked Bo’s heart several times and that she still howls when he comes around. Kenzi quickly changes the subject back to mascara.

Bo goes to see Dyson and says that she does not like Tamsin and asks what she has been saying about her. This causes Dyson to ask if Bo has been drinking. She then asks Dyson if he has fake ID and something crawls down the side of Dysons neck.  Dyson tells Bo that she is so beautiful and that he has to go.  When Lauren approaches Bo, Bo says, “I think Dyson likes me. Don’t tell anyone this but I think I might kiss him.” The two wave to each other as Lauren looks on.

Lauren takes Bo back to her place for examination and says that she is stumped about what is wrong with Bo. Bo then tells Lauren that she is really hot and asks if she has ever kissed a girl. Bo then says that Lauren is a boring doctor who does not like any fun, while playing with Lauren’s stethoscope. Lauren is getting frustrated with Bo’s antics and asks if she has been in contact with anything strange. Bo brings up a guy with a magic stick and then starts laughing

Back at The Dahl, Dyson approaches Tamsin and asks her if she is playing with herself. Tamsin asks if someone spiked his beer and Dyson responds, “this one time it totally happened and I got to be Kenzi - nailed it.” Dyson then asks if Tamsin thinks that Bo likes him and that he is going to ask her out on a date. When Tamsin leans over to take her next shot at pool, some kind of creature leaps from Dyson and crawls into her ear. Tamsin start to sing, “Bo and Dyson sitting in a tree.” Dyson tells her to shush because people are listening.

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We open to lots of camera panning around a house, (I think they may have let Overly Arty Cameraman out again), lots of domestic images – and a photograph on the wall of Kit with Alma and Grace and the 2 babies.

Kit himself is crying, splattered with blood and carrying a large, blood stained axe. There’s a blood covered body on the floor and a little girl calls for Kit – her daddy. He says he’ll be there in a minute

Hah, you expected a happy ending on American Horror Story?


1967

Time to flash back before the deaths –and we have happy families going on – Grace drawing a charcoal sketch of the aliens (which Alma insists she doesn’t remember) and Alma preparing vegetables while the children play. Kit comes home all enthusiastic about some kind of activist march which Alma greets with sensible practicality about taking toddlers to a march and isn’t too keen with Grace showing the babies traumatising sketches of their alien abductors (I like Alma’s acting throughout here, it has such a powerful note of “I’m really trying to be nice about this whole thing but I’m not loving it at all”)

That night Kit and Alma are sat on the bed but Alma is concerned about Grace and her obsession with the abduction (and Kit notes Alma never talks about it). He says that Grace is just processing what happened but Alma rejects that, saying Grace is obsessed with the past because she’s unhappy in the present – and Kit needs to spend more time with her. He goes and finds Grace drawing the aliens again, she claims she’s doing it for the children so they know where they came from. Grace also reminds Kit that she has other memories that ambushing her that are even less pleasant than the aliens – the whole axe murdering her family thing.

They kiss and have sex, Alma in the next room – when the lights start flickering and go out – followed by blinding white light – alien light. Alma screams and panics, Grace grabs her and they both go and get the babies while Kit gets a shotgun. It turns out not to be aliens, but a truck full of arseholes who throw something that sets fire to the curtains before driving off, Grace puts them out and the police arrived.

The police interview Kit who knows who did it –Billy Marshall – but the policeman has little inclination to follow it up and instead takes a dig at Kit over his polygamy. He returns to the house to see Grace, Alma is crying in her room, panicking because she thought it was the aliens. Grace says Alma is repressing the memories and sends Kit to her.

Later it’s all happy daylight and Alma and Grace finally have it out about the aliens. Grace loves the aliens as miracle workers, Alma hates them as cruel monsters who experimented on them. Try to reconcile those positions. And Alma pulls out the ace – before the aliens came Alma and Kit were married and happy, after the aliens he brought home an axe murderer to play house with. Grace asks Alma if she wants Julia to grow up ashamed of who she is and Alma slaps her – and instantly apologises. Grace breaks a glass and storms out while Kit comes in and looks kind of gormless.

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American Horror Story is a show that loves to push boundaries. Sometimes it does this with some terribly emotional, painful and dramatic scenes that are incredible to watch. Sometimes it does this by invoking and presenting a horrendously hard to watch issue, realistically and with no sugar-coating as it did in American Horror Story: Asylum, with the painful depictions of ex-gay “therapy” inflicted on Lana. And sometimes it does this by deciding to have Anne Frank run around in an act of line crossing that left us stunned.

In it’s urge to shock, American Horror Story loves to leap across lines it should hesitate to cross, and rarely have we seen this more evident than with the constant depiction of rape through these 2 seasons.

Rape was a consistent theme throughout American Horror Story: Asylum. In many cases, it was absolutely brutal and painful to watch.  In the media, it is not uncommon to see violence aimed at women but the degree to which American Horror Story: Asylum included rape in its storyline this year was absolutely gratuitous. One cannot even reasonably argue that the rape occurred to move the plot along - it was inserted for shock value, nothing more. Leigh didn’t need to try and rape Jude to have his revenge with her, any more than in America Horror Story: Murder House, Tate had to rape Patrick to murder him. The point of  American Horror Story: Asylum, was for the viewer to be horrified by the conditions of the inmates and this most certainly could have been done without the continual rape of women.  Rape became a facet of entertainment, a tool for setting the theme.

All of the rapists were clearly to be understood as evil and in particular Dr. Thredson played by Zachary Quinto. It is good that rape is understood as a terrible violation; however, American Horror Story: Asylum made it seem as though all rape occurs because of psychopaths. Even though the rape itself was intimate because all of the victims knew their attacker in someway, the attacks still occurred within a framework of the rapist being psychologically damaged in some way, as a way of explaining his actions. The true motivation for rape is power, not psychosis, as American Horror Story: Asylum would have us believe. It doesn’t take a mental illness to make a rapist, nor can we attempt to excuse or distance ourselves from the horrors of rape, by presenting the perpetrators as always as these evil, mentally damaged people, rather than, as is often the case, the normal man in the street, the neighbour, the friend - even the loved one. This is a trope which was continued on from  American Horror Story: Murder House, where the rapist of Vivien and Patrick was Tate, a mass murderer and someone who was again presented to be insane. This approach servers to pathologize the mentally ill and establish mental illness as a threat to the safety and society. 

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Aidan

The gang is all together cooking dinner – which only Josh eats of course. Yet that doesn’t stop Sally and Aidan doubting the Jewish werewolf with inept knife skills ability to prepare it appropriately. They also have a fun snarky conversation about terrible ways to die, Aidan and Josh listing something that happened to them that was the other’s fault and poking fun at Sally’s balance of the universe killing people thing. And Aidan gets more and more serious insists that they don’t have to die and they’re not going to die.

And Aidan wakes up from his little odd hallucination underground where Mother buried him. He isn’t looking good and has clearly been buried for some time, going by the raging facial hair.

He is dug up (while he babbles apologies to Mother) by someone who claims to be a friend (and carries a stake, so not that friendly. Or maybe just sensibly cautious). His name is Micky and he puts some kind of metal contraption over Aidan’s head.

When he wakes, it seems the contraption is some kind of prop from Saw or Silence of the Lambs that covers his jaw and stops him nibbling on people. He’s in a nasty dank basement with blood bags and blood stained rags and other unpleasant things you really don’t want to wake up to. The man tells Aidan that he’s one of the few left that “they’re all dead” (I assume the other vampires) and those left want his blood because he’s “pure” and they believe it will cure them. And Micky is going to sell that blood.

Of course, dealing with vampires isn’t the most sensible option and when his customer arrives – Atlee (one of the Amish vampires who are part of the Dutch we have seen before) and stakes him with his own stake, unable to pay Micky’s prices. He rescues Aidan, empties the fridge of blood and helps Aidan leaves – but Atlee stops him feeding on Micky, telling him the blood can kill him.

They drive off and Atlee explains the situation. Mother’s dead, they’re all dead or disappeared searching for untainted blood. Apparently the latest flu epidemic left human blood tainted and any vampire who feeds on it gets sick – including Atlee who already has lesions around his face.  Atlee thinks Aidan may be the answer. Which is when Aidan’s hallucinations kick in again, with Hallucination!Sally pointing out he’s about to be eaten by a pack of rabid, virus stricken, Amish vampires (which sounds ridiculous no matter how you phrase it). In fact can we keep them around? Hallucination!Sally and Hallucination!Josh are waaay more fun than their reality counterparts. They’re joined by Hallucination!Bishop and after some hilarious banter (I love these, we gotta keep them) they encourages Aidan to fight – he attacks Atlee but in his weakened state the other vampire wins and bites him, hoping Aidan’s blood will save him (Hallucination!Bishop apologises).

Having drunk from Aidan, Atlee is shocked to realise that his blood isn’t the cure – and crumbles to death in the driver’s seat, causing the van to crash.

Aidan lies by the side of the road, not looking well, while Hallucination!Josh and Hallucination!Sally watch him and get angry over him dying. Aidan insists he’s not going to die, gasping and fighting and willing to live.


Sally

Sally is in limbo, which has a nifty fuzzy black and white ghosty effect, running with 2 companions, Nick and Stevie (old shredded ghosts – actually ghosts Sally shredded, he who constantly drowned in the Dr. Who scarf and the kid she went to school with). They’re trying to get back to the living world and it isn’t going well. After her failed attempt to get through the door of the house, Stevie and Nick disappear.

She goes and finds them – Nick in a lake, drowning again, and Stevie (who committed suicide, albeit with pills) hanging from a tree, watching his family go on without him; their personal limbos. They return to the house, the door doesn’t open, again, and her companions disappear, again. Looks like this is Sally’s personal limbo. Nick and Stevie try to talk her out of continually trying again and again.

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Fairyland Past
In a tavern, Belle listens to a group of men rallying support to kill a fearsome beast, the yaoguai. And Grumpy – back in his Dreamy days – pulls up a chair and talks to her about his plans to run away with his fairy love. He advises her to go on an adventure and go face the beast as she dreams of doing, but she’s reluctant since she’s aware that only adventures in books have happy endings and her last run in with a “Beast” didn’t end well. He pushes and, excited, she goes accepting his gift of fairy dust for the road.

She sets off on the wagon and her reading is regarded with contempt by her fellows, when asked what use her book is, she reveals that the yaoguai lives by the lake – and they kick her off the wagon and drive on, leaving her behind. Of course, she’s lying and the nocturnal yaoguai is actually in the mountains, where she goes alone. Armed with a dagger and a hard backed book. Uh-huh, c’mon Belle, you’re supposed to be the smart one. Predictably, the yaoguai leaps out of the cave (it’s like a wolf with a mane of fire) and nearly eats her until it is shot with an arrow and driven off.

Who is Belle’s rescuer? Mulan! Who is less than happy about Belle ruining her hunt. Belle points out she found the yaoguai faster than Mulan – but Mulan leaves. Belle goes to the local settlement to get water from the well and the men she lied to grab her and hold her over it, threatening to drop her in for lying to them. Mulan makes another appearance to save Belle and easily defeat the men holding her. Mulan comments on how she hated dealing with men who dismissed her because she was a woman and agrees to have Belle join her for her superior tracking skills

Unfortunately, Mulan took a cut to the leg protecting Belle which is steadily getting worse as they travelled. When they reach the yaoguai’s lair, Mulan is too weak to fight and kill it so Belle has to. Belle protests she can’t (then why were you tracking it in the first place?!) but Mulan insists she can, everyone doubted her originally but she showed them she had a warrior’s spirit – all you need to do is find something worth fighting for.

Belle attracts the yaoguai’s attention and leads it to a water tower, when it gets close she douses it in water, extinguishing its fiery mane. It falls to the floor, weak – and writes with its claw in Chinese characters “save me.” Belle instantly sheaves her sword (good thing no enemy lies, right?) and pours the fairy dust Dreamy gave him over the creature – and he turns into Prince Phillip. He was cursed by Malificent.

Belle takes Phillip back to Mulan so he can help her to a doctor, while Belle wanders off on her own to go back to Rumplestiltskin. And runs into Regina who has her locked in a tower while she rants that she’ll never stop fighting for him.

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